Baby's shooting death a wake-up call

Updated 4:24 pm, Thursday, March 14, 2013

On Tuesday morning, 6-month-old Jonylah Watkins died in a Chicago hospital from gunshot wounds to her thigh, shoulder, lung, liver and bowels. The intended target was her father, Johnathan Watkins, a member of a Chicago gang with a long criminal record, according to media reports.

Unfortunately, Jonylah's killing did not get the coverage that other shootings have this past year. It appears that murders in Chicago, regardless of the age of the victim, have become common and no longer grab the attention of the national media.

Even though suspects will be eventually arrested and charged with the murder of this beautiful baby, the rest of us should be charged also for failing her and other young children like her. Our communities should be charged for allowing this kind of violence to continue.

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As of this writing, no one had come forward to provide the Chicago Police Department with information. “We don't have one individual who's stepping up to help us,” Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said.

The reason why is a long history of distrust between the community and the police, not only in Chicago but throughout inner cities all over the country, including San Antonio. The police have brought a great deal of this mistrust upon themselves because of their failure to build credible relationships with black communities.

Our school systems can also be charged. Black children need to know about their rich heritage and culture, so they can take pride in who they are and what they represent. The only heroes they have are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama; more are needed.

Members of a Chinese delegation visiting the United States in 1930 were appalled that blacks in this country allowed whites to determine what would be taught to their youth. Now we are suffering the result of a lack of meaningful education for our children.

Our only hope is that out of this baby's tragic death, we as a society begin to realize that we have failed generations of black children, who now find their foundation in a gang and consider their only worth is when they can put a bullet in a fellow human being.

That must change. Just as the country jumped on the bandwagon for gun control after the slaughter of children in Newtown, Conn., maybe the slaughter of a 6-month-old in Chicago will have the same effect.